Speeding fines could fill budget holes

One-hundred thirteen - yes, 113. That is how many cars my 13-year-old daughter counted passing us on southbound Route 53 between Palatine and Higgins roads (about a seven-minute drive I guess) on Sunday as we headed to church. So what, you ask?

Well, we were following the law, the speed limit - you know, 45 miles per hour in a construction zone. My daughter asked if we were the only ones following the law as every other car was passing us by, some at mind-numbing speed.

So, we started thinking about Illinois not paying its bills, submitting IOU's, schools not being paid, nursing homes going without their payments and a host of others.

Well, I gotta believe that our experience on Route 53 was not an isolated experience. I simply have to believe that virtually every other highway, road, route, etc., is experiencing the very same thing: lawbreaking speeders. So, 113 cars passing us by. At $375 per car (the "minimum" fine posted on the giant warning signs), that would seem to be more than $42,000 that state could have earned in less than 10 minutes.

Take that further to 365 days a year and you have the potential to raise more than $15 million in fines. Add to that the increased safety on our roads, the symbol of enforcing the law and ya got nothing but a win-win.

Add to that, say, 50 "other" roads where this has to be happening, and now you have nearly a billion dollars in fines. Wow. Maybe I am naive, but it certainly makes you think.

Oh, and I am sick to death of speeders endangering hardworking road crews. Big win.

Jim Constantine

Arlington Heights